Thursday, January 20, 2011

Richard Vedder on Problems in Higher Ed

Today's edition of Inside Higher Ed features, "For Many, College Isn't Worth It," an article from CCAP Director Richard Vedder. In it, Dr. Vedder offers a counter to a recent post by Anthony Carnvale on the topic of underemployment and the use of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Vedder asserts that while college may be a good investment for many Americans, for the large group of students that fails to graduate and find good jobs, that proposition is problematic. He further argues that the call by "many higher education advocates to rapidly and radically increase the number of college graduates is fundamentally off-base." We hope you will weigh-in on this debate.

Also, Richard Vedder has a new post over at the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Innovations" blog. In "Academically Adrift: A Must Read," Vedder summarizes Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa's important new book which provides startling evidence that many students learn little while in college. Vedder questions why "the financially strapped federal government provides billions of dollars to subsidize students participating in the increasingly expensive and hedonistic experience we call 'higher education?'"